Words by Wendy Ma
As Brisbane Festival kicks off this month, it can be overwhelming to decide which shows to attend, for fear or FOMO (fear of missing out)! We tried to make life a little easier for you, with our top picks from theatre to dance and music.
1. When time stops
Dance, Identity, Choreography, Moments
From award winning Australian choreographer, Natalie Weir comes an ethereal voyage of life changing moments. Bringing 20 artists together, Expressions Dance Company invites you to be apart of their most ambitious work to date. Be drawn into all of live's precious achingly personal moments from new life, loss, love and longing.
6th to 14th September, tickets here, $48-58.
2. The Wizard of Oz
Fame, Fantasy, Theatre, Fairy Tales
Taking you on a journey down the yellow brick lane, The Danger Ensemble and writer Maxine Mellor face the challenge of presenting a new contemporary take on the fairy tale we all know and love.
7th to 28th September, tickets here, $25-54.
3. Aurelian
Memories, Performance Art, Truth, Stories, Love
Inspired by the collected interviews about the stories of lost loved ones, this contemporary performance explires memory, thruth and how we construct our own realities. Directed by Genevieve Trace, this multi-faceted performance will leave you questioning the tangibility of your most treasured memories.
7th-15th September, tickets here, $18-25.
Dance, Acrobats, Raw, Intense, Savage
Witness the making of physical music with the intense, raw and passionate sounds of Shostakovic and the delicate yet savage dance of chamber music infused with contemporary circus brought to you by Circa (one of the most innovative circus companies on the planet).
"A celebration of the expressive possibilities of the human body at its extremes." Huffington Post, New York.
10th-15th September, tickets here, $40-45.
5. The Unspoken Word is 'Joe'
Breakup, Comedy, Theatre, Love, Loss
Nominated for 3 Green Room Awards and winner of the Melbourne Festival Discovery Award (Melb Fringe Fest 2012), Zoey Dawson brings you a tender, funny, honest and raw story. Written to deal with a bad break up she assures us it's not a break up play, that there's other stuff in it about love, life an loss and that it's also really good. We have a feeling you should pack a spare pair for the laughs ahead but also some tissues for those heartfelt moments...
6. Bonemap: Terrestrial Nerve
Technology, Performance, Installation, Experiential Art
A cosmological immersive performance installation presented by Bonemap will have you enchanted and astonished. Dancers respond in this new media performance influenced by encounters with frontier zones, border crossings and psychological inhabitation. Visually rich media design, ephemeral installation through choreographic augmented technologies will create a real time experience.
11-14th September, tickets here, $10-$15.
7. Super Speedy Sound Shed
Kids, Theatre, Interactive, Sound
4/5 stars Melbourne International Comedy Festival
“A top notch performance enjoyed by kids of all ages (yes even the big adult ones). Faces lit up all around the room as we got to contribute sounds to the story.”
We're going to ignore the 'suitable for kids ages 7-12'... ;)
14th-15th September, tickets, $15.
8. Psycho Beach Party
Camp, Cross Gender, Theatre, Hollywood
Follow the schizophrenic world of Chicklet, a Gidgetesque nerd with a dream to surf. When the town’s people are attacked in strange sado-masochistic ways, it is up to the surfbums and a B-Grade Horror star to find the culprit and save Chicklet. This critically acclaimed show comes hits town after sold out seasons in Melbourne and Sydney, don't want to miss this high energy theatrical phenomenon!
17th - 18th September, tickets, $18-25.
9. Doku Rai
Raw, Dark, Hilarious, Wild, Mythical
The Black Lung Theatre and Whaling Firm team up with well respected Timore-Leste rock band, Galaxy and artist, Liurai Fo'er to create a music-charged mythical tale of two brothers locked in a violent rift. Created over two months in an abandoned colonial hotel on a remote island off the coast of Dili, they emerged with their first collaborative professional theatre production. This powerful and raw cross-cultural performance is combines traditional ritual and metaphoric tales of colonialism, religion and violence told through immersive video, performance and rock music.
10. Beach Fossils
Music, Psychadelic, Lo-fi, Daydreams, Aural Pleasure
We are absolutely thrilled to have lo-fi, psychadelic, dream/garage/pop, Brooklyn boys back in our hood after cancelling their last tour. We are NOT letting them slip through our fingers this time...
19th September, tickets, $35-40.
11. Zomby
Grime, Dubstep, Electronic, Rave, Dark
This will be the first time electronic/sounds master Zomby will set foot on Aussie soil and he's keen for Brisbane!! Touring With Love (his most recent masterpiece), experience the seamless way he integrates and reconfigures electronic plains with the soulful dance music of his past into eerie, deep, incantations.
20th September, tickets, $20.
Remember! You can score discounts for 3 or more shows, yeah boi!
